Railway-car retarder



Dec. 23, 1,930.

H. L. BONE RAILWAY CAR RTARDER Original Filed June 20, 1928 www? tarder beam.

Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNTsn stares narrar. 4

HERBERT 1I.. BONE, or swIssvALE, PENNsYLvaNrA, nssIGNoE ro friin Union SWITCH & SIGNAL'COMPANY, 0F swIssVaLE, PENNsYLvAEin, a conroaarioiv or PENNT SYLVANIA.

RAILWAY-CAR RETARDER Original application filed .Tune 20, 1928, Serial No. 287,003. Divided and this application led April 28,

1930. Serial 110.447,852. i V

In retarders of this character it is desirable that the wheel engaging surface of the brake beam should contact with the wheel as far above the rail as possible, that is, as close to the wheel axle as possible, because the further above the rail this engagement of the beam takes place the greater will be the retarding effect for a given force exerted on the re- One feature of my invention is the provision of a car retarder wherein the brake beam, when it comes in Contact with a car wheel, swings upwardly due to the pressure between the beam and the wheel, so that the wheel engaging surface of the brake beam rises and bears on the `car wheel at a higher point than if the brake beam remained in the same horizontal plane.

l will describe two forms of car retarders embodying my invention, and will then point ont the novel features thereofV in claims.

The present application is a division of my copending application iiled J une 20, 1928, Serial No. 287 ,008, for Railway car retarders.

in the accompanying drawing, Fig. l is a transverse sectional view showing a portion of one form of car retarder embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing a modification of a portion of the retarder shown in Fig. 1 and also embodying my invention.

bimilar reference characters refer to similar garts in each of the views.

Referring iirst to Fig. 1, the reference char-` acter 1 designates a track rail, and the reference character 11 designates the brake beam of a car retarder provided with a brake shoe 3 having a wheel-engaging surface 3. The brake beam 11 slides toward and away from the rail l on a fixed plate 4, and, as here shovui I this brake beam is provided with a arn- 12 which is pivotally mounted at an intermediate point 12a. The lower end of the driving arm is connected at l2b with suitable operating mechanism which forms no part of my present invention.

The brake beam is provided with a heel 11c and a -toe 1l, both of which normally rest on the plate The toe lb coacts'with the lipl on a hold-down 'strap 13 in such manner that when the brake beam is in the closed position,n the toe is under the lip 13, but

that there is considerable clearancebetweenV the toeV and the lip. rEhe result of this is, that the beam 11 can be swung 1n counterclockwise direction around the heel 11-c as a center to allow the wheel-engaging surfacev retarder, the beam 11 will swing in countercloclwise direction, andV the resultof this movement is that the wheel-engaging surface 3a will 'contact with the wheel at a higher point than if the brake beam l1 were to remainV in the position in which it is shown in Fig; l. This will result in attaining a greater retarding effect for a given amount of forceappliedto the drivingarm l2.

Thev wheel-engaging surface ais preferably beveled at such angle from'the vertical that this surface is in a vertical plane when the beam 11 is swung as far as the holdedown strap'lwill permit. Y y

y Referring now to Fig. 2, the retarder struc-V ture shown in this view'is the Asame as, that shown in'Fig.y 1, exceptithatthe clearance betweenthe toellb and the lip 132% is eliminated and the hold-down'strap 13 is made of flexible material, so that the lip 13a may be deflected upwardly to-permit the brake beam` 11 to swing in counter-clockwise 'direction as before.

With a car retarder constructed in accordance with my invention, the brake beam when in the open position is not far enough above the rail to interfere with locomotive counter-balance weights, low bearing bolts, or other parts on the rolling stock. Then the beam is in the closed or retarding position, however, and a wheel is in the retarder, the beam tips in such manner as to raise the wheel-engaging surface without materially increasing the height above the rail at the point where parts of the rolling stock might interfere. If a locomotive should go through the retarder while it is in closed position, the brake beams will be forced downwardly without damage to themselves or to the locomotive, and the same thing is true with a freight car having parts which interfere with the brake beam when it is in elevated position.

Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of car retarders embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A railway car retarder comprising a brake beam located beside a track rail and movable toward and away from the rail, means for permitting said beam to swing so that its wheel engaging surface moves upwardly from its normal position when engaged by a car wheel, and means for limiting such swinging movement of the beam.

2. A railway car retarder comprising a fixed guide, a brake beam having a heel and a. toe normally sliding on said guide whereby the beam may swing upwardly around the point of contact of its heel with the guide as a center due to engagement with a car wheel, and means for limiting such swinging movement of the beam.

3. A railway car retarder comprising a fixed guide, a brake beam having a heel and a toe normally sliding on said guide whereby the beam may swing upwardly around the point of contact of its heel with the guide as a center due to engagement with a car wheel, and a fixed strap for limiting such swinging movement of the beam.

4. A railway car retarder comprising a fixed guide, a brake beam having a heel and a toe normally sliding on said guide whereby the beam may swing upwardly around the point of contact of its heel with the guide as a center ydue to engagement with a car wheel, and a hold-down strap provided with a lip coacting with said toe when the beam is in closed position'to limit such swinging movement of the beam.

iframes 5. A railway car retarder comprising a brake beam located beside a track rail and movable toward and away from the rail, means for permitting said beam to swing so that its wheel engaging surface moves upwardly from its normal position when engaged by a car wheel, and means for limiting such swinging movement of the beam, said wheel engaging surface being bevelled at such angle from the vertical that when said beam is swung as far as said limiting means will permit said surface is in a vertical plane.

In testimony whereof I aliX my signature.

HERBERT L. BONE. 

